Due to the tremendous support received as part of this year’s Running Down the Walls, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation is now able to increase its monthly Warchest stipends. Effective in November, all 19 political prisoners supported by ABCF Warchest will receive $50 every month.
It is imperative that we recognize that the ABCF was able to make this adjustment because of the support received by the larger community. For more information, please check out: https://www.abcf.net/warchest-program/
Write: Leonard Peltier #89637-132 USP Coleman I PO BOX 1033 Coleman, FL 33521 (USP Coleman does not allow greeting cards. You must write on regular white paper and white envelopes). More political prisoner addresses are here.
Background: Native American activist Leonard Peltier has spent over 40 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Prosecutors and federal agents manufactured evidence against him (including the so-called “murder weapon”); hid proof of his innocence; presented false testimony obtained through torturous interrogation techniques; ignored court orders; and lied to the jury. People are commonly set free due to a single constitutional violation, but Peltier—innocent and faced with a staggering number of constitutional violations—has yet to receive equal justice.
Listen to the new The Leonard Peltier Podcast at http://leonard.buzzsprout.comIn 1977, Native American activist Leonard Peltier was sentenced to consecutive life terms for killing two FBI agents. Then in 2000, a Freedom of Information Act disclosure proved the Feds had framed him. But Leonard’s still in prison. This is the story of what happened on the Pine Ridge Reservation half a century ago—and the man who’s still behind bars for a crime he didn’t. commit. https://twitter.com/leonard_pod
More political prisoner birthdays are at NYC ABC’s birthday calendar!
This amazing video was made by hate5six for Philly ABC. See all of the former political prisoners from the MOVE organization in one place and so much more!
Ed’s Story In April of 1971, Edward Poindexter and Mondo we Langa, formerly David Rice, were sentenced to life in prison for the death of an Omaha police officer- a crime they did not commit. The two were targeted by law enforcement and wrongfully convicted due to their affiliation with the Black Panther Party, a civil rights and anti-fascist political group. Nearly 50 years later, Ed is still in prison and maintains his innocence. He has earned several college degrees, taught anti-violence classes to youth, authored screenplays, and more. His last chance for freedom is to receive a commutation of sentence from the Nebraska Board of Pardons. At age 75, he is at high risk for COVID related health complications. He must receive an immediate and expedited commutation hearing from the Board.
Take Action Now Write, email and call the Nebraska Board of Pardons. Request that they expedite Ed’s application, schedule his hearing for the October 2020 meeting and commute his sentence.
WRITE: Nebraska Board of Pardons P.O. Box 95007 Lincoln, NE 68509 *please email a copy of your letter to [email protected]
Sample Letter
Dear Pardons Board:
I am writing in regards to Edward Poindexter, #27767, who has served nearly 50 years in prison with exemplary behavior and many accomplishments. He is 75 years old and at high risk for COVID-19 related medical complications, which have been amplified by the increased COVID transmission rate among prisoners. I am therefore requesting that the Board expedite Ed’s application, schedule his hearing for the October 2020 Board meeting, and commute his sentence to length of time served.
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation has always attempted to stay transparent in regards to how donations are dispersed. Here is an updated Warchest report which highlights the most recent donations and disbursements. As indicated on the flier, due to recent fundraising efforts and donations, we have added two more individuals (Leonard Peltier and Doug Wright) to the Warchest list. This brings the number of Warchest recipients to 19 political prisoners who receive monthly stipends. To download the report, please click here
This year’s Running Down the Walls is a 5K run/walk/bike/roll/exercise to raise awareness and funds for political prisoners incarcerated in North America. With the devastation and uncertainty that came with Covid-19 (especially among already oppressed and imprisoned communities) Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross has decided to host this year’s RDTW (2020) decentralized and online. While we host this run online, we hope people participate in exercising however they can, while acknowledging their solidarity and connection with Political Prisoners inside the walls who historically participate in Running Down the Walls.
By being online we hope to bring wider access to people who could not make it out to select events before. No matter where you are, we hope you will be joining us this year in making Running Down the Walls 2020 a success and supporting our Political Prisoners inside, many who have been struggling even more in this moment.
Join us for Running Down the Walls – September 6th from 11am – 1pm PST we will be hosting a Twitter Storm (@La_ABCF). Please join us and participate in both the exercising portion and in Tweeting out support for Political Prisoners. Feel free to make noise all day for those imprisoned.
All funds raised will go to the ABCF Warchest, The Warchest program was created in November of 1994. Its purpose is to send monthly financial support to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POWs) who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. Since its inception, the Warchest has raised over $120,000 with all the money going directly to those behind the prison walls.
My warm embrace goes out to the bright spirit and good politics of running down the wall… in these most dire and yet promising of times. I know you are building support for a new generation of political prisoners. A key reason for political prisoner support is to show the continuity of the struggles for social justice. That understanding is acutely important today. The alternative to police who act with disdain and violence toward the people is community control, which is based on developing strong, caring, cohesive communities. Groups like the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords were working on that until they came under withering attack by the police and FBI. Some are still in prison today… today when we now have a new, better opportunity to move toward self-determination and a priority on meeting human needs in the oppressed communities.
We gather under trying times. But we gather! We gather without proximity, sacrificing hugs and shared physical space to protect our community so we can emerge from the Covid-19 era stronger. But we gather! And we gather not only in resistance to repression but in sad memory of comrades fallen along the road to revolution – Comrade Sekou Kambui, for one, whose entry into this vale of all things we mark today. But we gather!
We gather to fan the embers of revolution that still burn in all our hearts. We gather to celebrate the life of Sekou Kambui and each of the comrades born in other days who’ve laid down their teaching for us to carry into the future we engineer. We gather to build that seismic wave that will rattle the foundation of every prison with our footfalls from myriad disparate points. We gather because the future we will create by gathering together tells us we must.
So, let us sally forth from whatever kind of lockdown afflicts our bodies, plug into that radical record that gathers us all, lace up our shoes or grease our wheels, and Run Down the Walls! I’ll be with you, stepping up (& down!) on my plastic chair, a reasonable approximation of running in the Covid-19 lockdown here at Victorville FCI-I.
This month’s letter-writing event will be a special Black August edition on Sunday August 23rd, the 77th birthday of Black Liberation prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz. Join us in signing conscious birthday cards, talking about his case and history of struggle, and engage in political education through a raffle!
The PE raffle prizes are four pairs of sneakers that were donated in support of this event. If you win a pair of shoes in your size, great! Otherwise you can trade or give to someone that fits them. The raffle is a way to engage in Black August study, with each ticket containing information on related topics. We look forward to the discussions that carry on after!
We’ll also be making announcements about the upcoming 5K in Maroon’s honor, as the registration deadline is the following day (Aug 24). If you want to participate but haven’t registered yet, you can do it here! We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have and go over logistics. This will also be a good opportunity to submit tabling requests for the event, if you have material you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you at this special, Black August edition card writing event for Maroon
